City Council Agenda and Packet 1997 01 14

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The CML Statehouse Report is published by the Colorado Municipal League every other week during the Colorado General Assembly ses- sion and mailed first class to municipal officials. Publication is from the League offices at 1660 Lincoln St., Suite 2100, Denver, CO 80264 -2101. ..CML staff can be reached at (303) 831 -6411; FAX (303) 860 -8175; e -mail: cml @capcon.com CML COLORADO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE Preview '97: What's ahead for the new legislative session The first regular session of the 61st Col- orado General Assembly gavels in at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 8, 1997, and the way things are shaping up, it is likely to be a session dominated by welfare reform, transportation finance, budget surpluses, and tax relief. These issues, and many more, will be considered by 100 men and women who may be slightly more conservative than even last session, in the view of some state- house pundits. The people Rep. Chuck Berry, R- Colorado Springs, returns as House speaker (although he has to be voted in by the entire House), and he's got a new majority leader in Rep. Norma Anderson, R- Lakewood. Anderson has worked with municipal officials on,many issues over the years. The League looks forward to working with her in this new capacity. Ditto for Rep. Carol Snyder, D -North- glenn (and a former Northglenn coun- cilmember), who is the new House minority leader. The numbers remain the same- 41 -24, Republican.to Democrat —in the House. Sen. Tom Norton, R- Greeley, will again be Senate president, and is rejoined by Sen. Jeff Wells, R- Colorado Springs, as majority leader. Sen. Mike Feeley, D- Lakewood, returns as Senate minority leader. Feeley will preside over one less Demo- crat. Last session it was 19 -16, Repub- lican to Democrat; in 1997 it will be 20- 15. Sen. Elsie Lacy, R- Aurora (and former Aurora councilmember), will chair the Joint Budget Committee. Chairs have already been selected in the Senate. Sen. Gigi Dennis, R- Pueblo West, will preside over the Senate Local Government Committee. Her district represents parts of southern Colorado and the San Luis Valley. She was vice chair of the committee last year. CML looks forward to working with Dennis in her new capacity. The politics Several key lawmakers are looking at the governor's office, when that election occurs in 1998; among them: Norton, Berry, and Feeley. The big story over the next two years is how many lawmakers will be forced out due to term limits; over a quarter of the Legislature -18 in the House and 9 in the Senate —will be subject to the limits. This could set up some interesting internal legislative dynamics among newer lawmakers jockeying for futur'e leadership posts. Another question many people are won- dering about is whether Gov. Roy Romer will stick around until 1998 to finish out his term or go to Washington and join President Clinton's cabinet. The governor also has left the door ajar for the '98 race for the U.S. Senate seat cur- rently occupied by Sen. Ben Campbell. III CML identifies key issues for upcoming session CML will be tracking numerous issues during the upcoming session with an eye toward potential impacts on member municipalities. Following are some of the headliners identified before the ses- sion starts. Transportation Romer's blue ribbon report identifies a $13 billion shortfall over the next 20 years in meeting critical state and local transportation needs, of which at least $5 billion is at the municipal and county level. Lakewood Mayor Linda Morton, Durango Councilmember Jasper Welch III, and Pueblo City Manager Lew Quigley were among the individuals 2 CML Statehouse Report December 6, 1996